Goatboy here again and today will talk about some of the lists that did well at Warzone Atlanta.

Those guys seem to run a pretty neat event with a return of overall score having a strong meaning as well as a lot more wide open style of field. No limits on power level, usually lists are pretty min/maxed, and a return of a butt stomping list ideal. They also run their own missions as well – so you can get some crazy designs that might not work in other tournaments but we can at least gleam some new thoughts to help your own armies out.

Overall Winner – Astra Militarum List

First will go with the overall winner. First of all – yes his list is illegal. He took a relic on a HQ choice that he could not take. I don’t think this was maliciously done as I know the guy, friends know the guy well, and heck he got 5 out of 5 best game votes. That is a pretty hard thing to do in any given event. He also got a maxed paint score, won a lot of games, and was a decent person to play against. Of course – as the list is illegal I still think no matter what you do – you DQ yourself just to at least bring less shame to yourself and the event itself. I mean no one is winning enough to make this a living. The prizes, while neat, are not why I go and try to win events. I go to meet friends, have fun, and hopefully get some decently competitive games in. Will see what the event does – but hopefully Andrew looks at the fact he got 5 best game votes so any stigma from this shouldn’t stick on him.

Secondly – read all your rules. That rule is right in the front of the book where it is obvious you can take these guys in your list and not break your regiment. If you are planning something that combines all kinds of rules from all corners of the 40k universe – then triple check your list. That relic is pretty devastating to Chaos – especially mixed with 4 Manticores. Good lord no Daemon Primarch should be living through that barrage bar bad dice. It is obvious he could easily tweak his list and make it legal but still. Enough chatting lets look at it.\

Thirdly – we really need a better way to build lists. The big frustration out of all of this is that the lists were posted beforehand. The whole review the lists and have the internet judge them beforehand is really hard to get to work right. It seems most of the time the only way things are caught, is when the event is live broadcast and the final rounds lists are posted. I don’t know what else to do beyond just having all top finishes on day 1 double checked to ensure there are no issues on Day 2. I know the Apps like Best Coast Pairing help out as people can keep up with their friends, review match ups, and actually check lists. Ugh this whole, every event has a bad list thing is getting frustrating.

Basically it is a massed AM list with every choice being a strong choice and duplicated to fill up the Detachment. The Krieg Riders are a nice bit of secret sauce as they can come in and put pressure on your opponent, give you some nice counter assault to clear out some Berserkers, and are fast enough to get around and score some objectives as needed. They are also not too weak with so many units they can easily sacrifice a few. This army is going to be burning Command points all game and getting them back. It is a machine and one of the things will see a lot as time goes on. The changes to the Commissar means Infantry Squad just might be a better bubble wrap.

The Ork List

An Ork list piloted by a Val Heffelfinger did very well. I really think the Ork codex has a lot of gems in it as well as some strong FW support. If the book just gets better like most of the other armies shifting from Index to Codex means will see a really rough monster of an army. Lots of bodies, decent damage output, and one of the best spells in the game means be prepared for friends to ask you if you have any boys from the old Starter sets.

This Ork army is full of the good stuff. You have the annoyingly good Big Mek Gunz with their interesting rules and how you can use and abuse hidden Grots. The Big Trakks with their auto hitting Supa Skorchas are just so strong right now especially with those pesky Eldar guys who have -2 to hit. He has a plethora of Smites as well which is great way to answer stuff. Plus he has the big daddy himself – the Squiggoth – who just takes a lot to take down, can force your opponent to react incorrectly, and do a ton of damage when he gets in and starts stomping. I think more Boyz is better just for myself but this list looks tough.

Best General – Chaos Soup List

Best General was Collin Watts who went with a Chaos Soup list that looks like something I might play. It is a Morty/Magnus list with tons of horrors, Daemon Princes, and some Giant Chaos Spawn. Mix this with a ton of different Daemon Characters and you get this mix of overlapping rules, auras, and paint for your opponent to deal with. There isn’t much to say then these two Daemon Primarchs just love to hold their hands together and cause problems for all these Imperium jerks.

This is one of the lists I always think about but then don’t do because I don’t want to make the Giant Chaos Spawn. But man this list looks like something terrible I would bring because I have so many dang Daemon Princes that just want to come out and play.

CSM – Death Guard – Alpha Legion List

Finally I want to look at a Death Guard list by my friend Twitch. It falls into what I have been messing with as well and I think it has some merit for future events. I have been enamored with the Center holding unit the Blightlord Terminators. I think using Cloud of Flies, tons of models around them, and ways to build up your Pox Walkers can make for a pretty rough game on your opponent. A lot of the current missions for ITC have central objectives so getting to the center and holding it is a good tactic to help win you the game as you grind it down.

Noise Marines are the other Secret Sauce in the Chaos Space Marine book. Look for them to Infiltrate all day long and blast out chunks of Screens as needed. I love the Terminators lately and think they are great Anchor unit to hold the middle, punish your opponent, and threaten multiple objectives.

Alright – a big shout out to all those guys who went. I wish I had more vacation left to make it to one of these. Maybe I will plan for it next year and see how the year falls. Right now I just have LVO in the books and maybe ATC depending on how the rest of the team shakes out. Until next time – Death to the False Emperor’s new Clothes.